Man Gets Hypothermia While Climbing Mountain On His Quest For Free Pizza

There really aren’t many things in this world that could get me high-tailing up a mountain. Sure, if someone I loved was at the top I might give it a half-hearted attempt. Hell, if there was a cute little puppy chilling on the mountain top I might be tempted to jog. However, if you were to even utter the words “free pizza” and I’d be up those slopes like someone jammed a rocket in my arse.

One bloke who understands that sentiment exactly is a 30-year-old fella from Arizona, who attempted to scale an almost 3-kilometer high mountain in the freezing cold just so he could save a few bucks on pizza.

Old mate had decided it would be a pretty great idea to climb Mount Elden, a mountain measuring over 9,300 feet, when it was covered in about 5 inches of snow. Luckily for him, a forest ranger spotted him from his watchtower and rescued him. He was then taken to a nearby shelter and parked by a fire to shake off that pesky mild hypothermia.

“Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit responded to a report of a hypothermic adult male hiker on top of Mt. Elden…The hiker was either unaware of the weather forecast or disregarded the forecast and set off ill prepared wearing shorts and light clothing,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The man was responding to a challenge from local pizzeria Pizzicletta, who promised free pizza coupons to anyone who’s brave or foolish enough to get to the top of Mount Eden during the 21-day Giro D’Italia bicycle race. The deal was that participants would meet at a specified time and place, if they were able to summit the mountain then they’d get a stamp good for free pizza at the restaurant that night.

“We never want anyone to risk their life for pizza. It’s certainly not worth it,” Pizzicletta owner Caleb Schiff told KPNX. “In truth, what we really want is people to make great decisions about their health and be active.”

That sounds like cowards talk to me. Salute to this man for going against nature itself in his quest to save $15.